Pot is not the new cupcake

Is pot the new cupcake? The, ah, loaded question came up when Capitol Hill Seattle reported that Cupcake Royale founder Jody Hall had applied for a retail marijuana license from the state of Washington. Hall said Thursday night, though, that the application was on behalf of a separate company from her growing (no pun intended) operation of “cupcakes with conscience” and ice cream.

Bob Young noted that the Capitol Hill address in Hall’s application couldn’t be a legal shop under the current law, and that regardless, Hall would need a different license, a processing license, to make and sell marijuana-infused baked goods. Hall incorporated the new company at the last minute, the day before the deadline to apply for state licenses, and told him she used the Capitol Hill location as “a placeholder.” Her plan was to provide a letter of intent from a landlord at a legal location if she received pre-approval from the state for what would be a “separate” brand with separate facilities and retail locations.

Given the ubiquity of pot brownies and the popularity of cupcakes, I’m surprised more baker/businesspeople didn’t show up on the application list. (It is an adults-only business vs. a kid-friendly one, but surely people are capable of recognizing the difference, as when a soda brewer opened a cocktail bar?)

We did at least get a good few days worth of puns out of the pot cakes ideas, with one Times commenter calling the idea “half-baked” and Young tweeting it as “glazed and confused.” For the funniest ones, go over to The Stranger, where one commenter “wouldn’t stir the pot until the regulations are all hashed out,” while another noted “In my day we got high and then ate cupcakes.”

About us

Bethany Jean Clement is The Seattle Times food writer. Her writing has also appeared in Best Food Writing, Food & Wine, Gourmet.com, Beard House, Town & Country, Edible Seattle, The Stranger and more. Follow her on Twitter: @BJeanClement.